1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a music interactive toy and/or educational instrument. More particularly, the present invention relates to such toys and/or educational instruments for teaching people of all ages to recognize, by sound, name and symbol the musical notes of the scale.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Music plays a major role in the lives of most people. Music is often referred to as a universal language, allowing people who do not speak the same language to nevertheless communicate with each other. However, while children are taught the basics of a spoken language (a, b, c, . . . ) and a numerical language (1, 2, 3, . . . ), very little emphasis is placed on the musical language (do, re, mi, . . . ). In fact even musicians, though skilled at their particular intent sometimes have little knowledge concerning the musical language. Many musicians learn to play by sound without ever associating musical notes with their given names (xe2x80x9cdoxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cmixe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfaxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csolxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9claxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9ctixe2x80x9d).
But most people do not have the natural born talent to learn how to play an instrument without knowing the musical language. Thus, it would be desirable to begin teaching the musical scale and the names of the musical notes (i.e., xe2x80x9cdoxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9crexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cmixe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfaxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csolxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9claxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9ctixe2x80x9d) to children at a relatively young age (even as young as under two years old), when their minds are most receptive to new information. However, because many children have relatively short attention spans, a method of teaching the musical scale to children to be effective must hold their attention while simultaneously educating them.
A number of systems and aids have been proposed for teaching the musical scale to children. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,501 to Tanaka. This system includes plural dolls, each having a flexible bellows and a uniquely configured air chamber and passageway to produce a unique noise in a particular pitch or tone. This system however, provides no means for varying the sound output by the dolls to cater to different children""s interests in an effort to capture and hold their attention.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,132 to Hale. It includes plural puppet characters that incorporate tonal devices such as battery powered electronic devices that emit a sound in a tone corresponding to that of the musical note with which the puppet character is associated. The tonal device which is housed inside the puppet includes a pressure sensitive switch to activate it. This device also suffers from the shortcoming that there is no way to change the output format of the sound being generated depending on the person using the device. Also of prior art interest is the Shiraishi U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,071 in which figurines are associated with the keys of a keyboard.
It is evident from the foregoing that there continues to exist a need for an improved music teaching device for teaching individuals, particularly children to distinguish musical notes by sound, sight and/or name simultaneously. Furthermore, there exists a need for such a music teaching device that is adaptable to the particular user thereof and to his or her interests. There is a need to understand relative changes in pitch between the notes by visualizing these changes in a graduated increase in size of the colored dolls or miniature figures, corresponding to each note. The present invention addresses these and other needs. Of prior art interest is my U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,057 which discloses a music teaching instrument which seeks to satisfy these needs, entitled xe2x80x9cSound Generating Educational Toy and Teaching Devicexe2x80x9d.
In our U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,057 there is disclosed a music teaching instrument adapted to teach pre-school children the notes of a musical scale so that the notes will be remembered. The instrument includes a sound system having a memory in which is stored audible tones of the musical scale, and means to reproduce a tone extracted from the memory so that it can be heard by the player. A keyboard is provided having a row of keys corresponding to the tones of the scale. Switching means are associated wit the keys and are coupled to the sound system whereby when a key in the row is actuated by the player, a corresponding tone is then reproduced.
A row of puppets is placed behind the row of keys, each puppet being normally inactive and in registration with a respective key. A mechanism responsive to actuation of a key serve to activate the corresponding puppet, whereby the puppet then appears to be voicing the tone being reproduced.
A child who plays this instrument will not only hear the tones of a musical scale as he manipulates the keys but he will also be made to recognize that the pitch of successive tones increases progressively as one goes up the scale. This progression is expressed alphabetically by letters and by numerical counterparts to the respective tones, as well as by changes in color. These changes are also indicated by symbols for the tones. The collective effect of these changes is to dramatize tonal distinction and in doing so to implant them in the player""s memory.
The instrument disclosed in my above-identified prior patent is a unitary, self sufficient portable apparatus which operates independently of external or auxiliary devices. Consequently, the instrument can be placed at any site that suits the convenience of its player. In effect the instrument is a module that packages a sound system associated with a keyboard to produce tones that depend on which keys are being actuated, a row of puppets behind the row of keys being key-actuated to selectively raise the puppets, the puppet which is raised se to voice the tone the being reproduced.
A computerized music teaching instrument in accordance with the invention virtually carries out functions actually performed by the portable instrument disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,057, but it does so without any mechanism for these mechanisms are simulated by the computer.
Of prior art interest are the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,763,257 and 4,704,682 to Manfred Clynes, both entitled xe2x80x9cComputerized System for Imparting an Expressive Microstructure to Successive Notes in a Musical Scalexe2x80x9d.
In the system disclosed in the Clynes patents, the notation of a musical score is fed into a computer having a sound card in which is stored the tones of the musical scale, the computer operating in conjunction with a sound system capable of reproducing the sounds stored in the card. In operation, each note from a music score entered into the computer is dig d to produce a binary signal which acts to extract from the sound card the corresponding tone whereby the successive notes of the score entered into the computer are reproduced. Thus a composer of music, at completing his score, can hear his composition performed without having to engage musicians for this purpose.
In view of the foregoing, an object of this invention is to provide a music teaching system which exploits the capability of a computer so that it affords a virtual image of an instrument for playing the tones of a music scale and functions in all respects in the manner of the music teaching instrument disclosed in my above-identified U.S. patent.
More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a computerized music teaching system in which the computer is associated with a remote controller having a keyboard which simulates the keyboard of a piano, each of whose keys when depressed, produces a switching action that controls the computer to cause it to generate a tone whose number corresponds to the number of the key.
Briefly stated, in a computerized music teaching instrument in accordance with the invention, the computer is provided with a sound system capable of reproducing the tones of a music scale stored in a tone base, and a video screen adapted to exhibit an image of the instrument selected from a series thereof. Each of these images exhibits a keyboard having a row of numbered keys, each key representing a respective tone in a musical scale, behind which is a row of humanoid figures or puppets of progressively greater height, all puppets being shown in a reclining state except the puppet corresponding to the key in the keyboard shown in a depressed activated state, as if pressed by the finger of a player.
Associated with the computer is a remote controller provided with a keypad having an array of numbered switches corresponding to the keys on the keyboard image and operating in conjunction with a digitizer whereby when a switch on the keypad is depressed by a player, the digitizer then generates a binary signal representing the number of the depressed key.
The digital signal from the digitizer is entered in the computer and it acts to extract from the tone base the particular tone corresponding to the number represented by the signal. It also extracts from the data base of the computer and displays on the screen the image showing the depressed key on the keyboard corresponding to the depressed switch on the controller keypad. In the displayed image, the corresponding puppet is seen in an erect state, the sound of the tone then being reproduced by the sound system. The player who operates the controller produces and hears a tone whose position in a music scale depends on the number of the key on the keypad that is depressed by the player.